Tourism: Chinese Visitors

Lord Berkeley Excerpts

Monday 12th November 2012 Lords Chamber

[Viscount Younger of Leckie]

We must do all that we can to keep visa application costs down, even though research backed by the tourism industry shows that visa costs and indeed the process for applying are not a significant barrier to in-bound Chinese tourists. It is true that the cost of a UK short-term visa is £78. A Schengen visa is less, at £50, although this cost is expected to increase when the biometric capture is included in the near future. A UK visa has biometric capture, which we regard as important for our security. It is worth pointing out that by 2030 China will have 1.4 billion middle-income consumers. There is therefore a great opportunity for us all to capture some of this market in the future.

[Lord Berkeley]

My Lords, does the Minister agree that comparing the whole of Schengen—more than 20 member states—with one country here and saying that their visa costs are a bit lower is not really the answer? Once one has bought a Schengen visa, one can go around all these states; just one visa is needed. Worse still, to get a visa to come to this country, Chinese people must give up their ID cards for eight weeks, I believe, which is quite serious. Is there not more that the Government could do to rebalance the problems of coming here compared with going to the continent?

[Viscount Younger of Leckie]

The noble Lord makes a very good point. I can reassure him that much is being done as we debate on this issue. I am not in a position to give any more details than that. However, we are aware that tourism in the UK is the fifth biggest industry and the third highest export earner, generating £115 billion in direct and indirect business for the economy and supporting 200,000 jobs. There is therefore much to bear in mind when we look at streamlining and sorting out the issues.